The global online video platform market is growing rapidly and is expected to reach $734.6 million by 2019. Uploading video advertisements online achieves this in a cost-effective manner giving consumers the flexibility to choose from a variety of options. Video platforms allows users to stream and view videos with wifi or without wifi, caring from the platform.

iTunes: iTunes is a popular choice for users that have a device belonging to Apple. The iTunes app is automatically downloaded onto all apple devices which could heighten the amount of users on the device. iTunes allows you to download download music videos, television shows, audiobooks, podcasts, all of the click of a button. There is also a large variety across all genres, and formats, which shows diversity within the store but also allows the audience to be broadened. Once brought, this does not cost any mobile data, or require any wifi. This is quite handy for users constantly on the go, as paying for the video is more cost efficient than consistently wasting data on devices such as youtube, or vimeo. This is also a good way for artists, and the apple company to gain money from videos, as the money will go straight to these companies, alongside many others which will also get a proportion of this profit. Personally however, I would not use this format to watch videos as I would rather watch a video on youtube for free, whilst connected to wifi, rather than pay quite a large proportion to permanently have a video.

Vimeo: Vimeo was founded in November 2004 by Jake Lodwick and Zach Klein. The name Vimeo was created by Lodwick, as a play on the words video and me. of December 2013, Vimeo attracts more than 100 million unique visitors per month and more than 22 million registered users. The platform not as popular as the video platform of youtube, however serves a similar purpose. Users can create a profile and interact through uploading and creating video. The site aims to also support HD video formats, which is always a pro especially for film makers. It is free which also makes this quite adaptable to a wider audience. Personally, I discovered youtube before Vimeo which serves the exact purpose, therefore I do not feel the need to use this platform. However, using the site it is easy to navigate and allows users to connect.

Youtube: Youtube is one of the most popular video platform sites. There is a diversity of video that can be viewed on this platform – film, music video, movie trailers, famous bloggers, and interviews. Many film companies and artists will premier their music videos on this website, which will ultimately attract a wider audience as the fans will be waiting for the premier. It is quick, and accessible. Many phones have the youtube app in the app store which can be found across all media platforms with this function. This is an example of cross media convergence. In addition to this, Youtube is also free. On the website, the creators of youtube quote, ‘YouTube allows billions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small.’ This shows that the video platform can be used for a range of purposes, from entertainment to business. One con of youtube however, is that the video platform uses a lot of mobile data and can only be accessed with wifi. This makes it difficult for users on the go to stream with limited mobile data allowance. Personally youtube is perfect for me – it updates me with world matters and I enjoy watching bloggers such as Niomi Smart. The website is full of diversity and encourages users to interact, with the ‘messaging’ tool making the website also relate to social media.

Facebook: There were 56.4 Billion video views on Facebook in June 2015, compared to 34.8 Billion views for YouTube. Now, some creators and brands will get the chance to monetize their video content on Facebook as part of an ad revenue scheme. With the primary purpose of Facebook being social, the video content is booming. Being a user of Facebook, I have realised the amount of video streamed onto my feed. Facebook is similar to youtube and Vimeo when it comes to streaming videos: you can see the amount of views, the creator, the amount of likes. One thing that sets Facebook aside from youtube is the fact that you cannot dislike a video. This sets aside a large amount of controversy when it comes to negativity with videos. However, users can still comment. However, it has to be empathised that face book’s primary purpose is to connect with other users, not to stream video. To enable Facebook, you have to create a profile. This could restrict viewers as not every member of the public will have time for this, unlike youtube, which offers quick, assessable video streaming.